What is a traditional Victorian mother to do when her precocious little girl grows into a young woman with modern ideas? Visitors to the Newport Mansions will find out in an engaging exploration of the relationship between Gwendolen King Armstrong and her mother in an exhibition of fashions, accessories and letters.

Portrait of a Newport Lady: The Fashionable Woman in 1900 examines the transition from Victorian to modern ideas of dress and lifestyle in Newport through the rich collections, photographs and letters of Kingscote (1841), the Gothic Revival cottage that was home to five generations of the King family, whose fortune was made in the China Trade.

The exhibit will be on display at Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Avenue, from April 9 through November 10. It is included in the regular price of admission to the Rosecliff tour.

Gwendolen King Armstrong (1876-1968) lived much of her very long life at Kingscote in Newport. From her 1901 Parisian-made wedding trousseau, including ball gowns, riding costumes, finely embroidered linens and lingerie, to the more casual, department store fashions she favored just a few years later, she epitomized the changing tastes of American women at the beginning of the 20th century, as they began to modify their dress in order to facilitate and accept changing societal roles. Personal letters between Gwendolen and her mother reveal the later years of the Gilded Age as a complex, transitory period of American history. Ella King held fast to her 19th century tastes while obliging her daughter's new, modern ideas about dress and lifestyle.

The surviving pieces of Gwendolen’s trousseau on display include two formal evening gowns, a dinner dress, and a tailor-made walking suit, all by the Paris fashion house of Raudnitz and Co., Huet and Cheruit. There is also a custom-fit riding habit made in London by habit–maker and tailor J. A. Matheissen, as well as other sportswear items. Each of her gowns had an appropriately matched pair of evening shoes; four pairs survive, made by P. Elliot Monquignon of Paris, and a pair of riding boots also Parisian-made. Many other accessories, from parasols to jewelry and handbags, round out the exhibit.

Also on display are copies of letters and photographs and other artifacts, such as the menu for Gwendolen’s wedding reception. Included are wedding invitation response cards, some from the Kings' famous neighbors, Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt and Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish.

The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island is a non-profit educational organization accredited by the American Association of Museums and dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area’s historic architecture, landscapes and decorative arts. Its 11 historic properties—five of them National Historic Landmarks—span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development. [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]